What is your flying season? On an average year, we have 36 weekends of flying time, not counting the ones where it is just too windy to fly. Our season goes from the first of March to the first of November. In years where we have a particularly mild winter, we have flown from the middle of January to the first of December. I am talking about temperatures in the high 40's minimum and no snow. This is in Central Washington State.
I wish our season was that long, we fly from about May to October, sometimes we don't get that long of a season as it varies.
Flierbk Wisconsin
Here in South Texas, there's only one flying season. It lasts from Jan 1 to Dec 31.
MJC
Flying season is anywhere from 3 weeks to 16 weeks depending on the first week and last week that the temperature stays above freezing and the summer bug population.
Don Galena, Alaska
We can fly 52 weeks a year here in Northeast Texas, depending on wind rain etc.
We get maybe 49-51 weekends a year including when the Santa Ana winds come up and slope soaring is primo. High 40's is something that happens at night one month of the year. Snow? What is snow? The other weekend is when that ultra rare rain stuff might come down. Yeah, we get a short flying season here in Southern California...
You poor bastards!
MJC
Well, there's only one bastard up here. I am the flying club. My short flying season is more than made up by the 10 square acre concrete pad that I fly from. Plus I get a lot of time for building.
Don
Phil AMA609
I'm from McAllen. They have all kinds of weather in south Texas. There's windy, hot and windy, hot and humid and windy, dust-storm, and drizzly cold-front. About 10 days a year there is no wind. I like Kansas City a lot better. We fly year round, but you have to dress for cold weather some times. Every once in a while we get insanely strong winds and it reminds me of McAllen, and I'm glad I don't live there any more. Not only that, but the grass is green here.
I sure miss El Pato, though. Do you think you could overnight a couple each of beef & bean and chicken & cheese for me and my wife?
I always knew that living in Colorado was a slice of heaven, but you have now confirmed it. I live in Fort Collins and fly all year round. Granted, there is an occassional snow, but it is on the ground for a very short time.
Snow? F' snow! I flew couple days ago while it was snowing, 16 degrees (F) and light winds. Had fun. Tried to fly yesterday - not snowing, 4" on the ground, 12 degrees out and 15mph wind.....didnt work out as well. My flying season lately has been 1-3 days long, depending on what weather.com's
36hour forecast tells me.Gotta admit though, flying in the warmer months would be better. Im a CAD draftsman, and numb 32year old fingers dont get much work done for a remarkably long time.
Here in Southern Aus, the season is generally 365 days!
That is, if you don't mind the bitterly cold winters of approx 10deg C and the terrible hot summers of up to 45 Deg C (that is what mornings and evenings are for.....)
Year 'round. Tampa, Florida!
No, but I will think of you when I go there next month. Kansas is just too darn cold for me. I threaten to move to the Valley every winter.
I will fly poetntially on any day that is more or less abocve freezing and with wind less than 10mph and the sun more or less shining, or at least daylight.
surprisingly, wind kept me inside more than anythimg last year..
You can't be in Heaven as my Brother-in-Law lives there.
Dan Thompson (AMA 32873, EAA 60974, WB4GUK, GROL) remove POST in address for email
I fly off the combat alert pad/parking area and taxiway the air force built many moons ago. I live and work on the old air force base here in Galena. No airplanes around unless the Air Force deploys or a civilian plane taxis by.
Don
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Here in Michigan, most people don't fly from Nov to March, but I think it is fun to fly off the snow. It's something different. It's fun doing touch and goes, seeing if you can just skim the top of the snow, and not get too deep in the powder snow such that it sucks your plane down, and then you really have to power up to get free from the snow. R/C planes also have a different "character" in the cold weather, than they do in the warm air - much more lift, engines seem to make more power, etc.
Greg
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